Uni Connect programme
10 . Uni Connect ( formerly known as the National Collaborative Outreach Programme ) is an OfSfunded programme that supports the delivery of sustained and progressive outreach to target learners in years 9 to 13 of secondary education . 8 The programme brings together 29 partnerships of universities , colleges and other local partners to offer activities , advice and information on the benefits and realities of going to university or college .
11 . Uni Connect is being delivered in three phases : phase one of the programme started in January 2017 and ran until July 2019 ; phase two started in August 2019 and finished in July 2021 ; and phase three started in August 2021 and is due to finish in July 2025 .
12 . Figure 1 below provides a visual representation of the various cohorts of learners engaged by the programme , from Key Stage 4 through to higher education entry . It shows that the potential number of years of engagement that each cohort may have received has increased since the programme launched in 2017 , with the ( outlined ) 2021 entry cohort ( which is the most recent with available data ) having received at most four out of the five full years of sustained and progressive outreach intended in the programme design .
Figure 1 : Timing of higher education entry for Uni Connect cohorts
13 . Only phases one and two are within scope of the evaluation in this report , because there is not yet sufficient national administrative data available for the cohorts of learners being engaged in phase three .
14 . The first phase of Uni Connect aimed to support the government ’ s social mobility goals by rapidly increasing the number of young people from underrepresented groups who go into higher education . Phase two built on this by aiming to :
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For more information on Uni Connect , see www . officeforstudents . org . uk / advice-and-guidance / promotingequal-opportunities / uni-connect /.
8